SAG/AFTRA Lawsuit Hearing Canceled (Exclusive)

The judge will decide the matter based on the motions filed in the last few weeks.

Federal Judge James Otero has canceled the scheduled March 26 hearing in the lawsuit seeking to preemptively void the SAG/AFTRA merger vote. His decision will be based on the legal papers filed to date, and could come at any time.

The court’s docket entry says that the matter is “TAKEN UNDER SUBMISSION. Accordingly, the hearing date is VACATED.”

The vote count is scheduled for March 30, unless the court rules in favor of the plaintiffs. Taking the matter off calendar does not signal the judge's decision, but may mean that he has reached one already.

Defendants in the suit are SAG, guild president Ken Howard, secretary-treasurer Amy Aquino and vice-presidents Ned Vaughn, Mike Hodge and David Hartley-Margolin. In addition, national executive director David White is listed in the caption (i.e., title) of the case, but omitted from the list of defendants in the body of the document.